HAS_SPN

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Summary


Forestall ACL Alias	HAS_SPN
Affected Object Types	Computers
Exploitation Certainty	Unlikely

Description

The HAS_SPN attribute in Active Directory indicates that a machine’s Service Principal Name (SPN) attribute is populated with one or more SPNs. SPNs are unique identifiers that link a service instance to the service account under which it runs, playing a critical role in Kerberos authentication. When a machine has one or more SPNs registered, it signifies that the system is configured to offer Kerberos-based services. This allows clients to request service tickets that correctly identify and authenticate the service, ensuring that the proper service account is engaged during the authentication process.

Identification

PowerShell

Active Directory Module

Using the ActiveDirectory PowerShell module, you can enumerate HAS_SPN entries.

Function: Find-HASSPN

function Find-HASSPN {
    [CmdletBinding()]
    param ([string]$Target = $null,[string]$SearchBase = $null,[string]$OutputPath = "ServicePrincipalName.csv")
    Import-Module ActiveDirectory -ErrorAction Stop
    Write-Host "Gathering computer objects with 'ServicePrincipalName' property..."
    $adComputerParams = @{
        Filter      = "*"
        Properties  = "ServicePrincipalName"
        ErrorAction = "Stop"
    }
    if ($SearchBase) {
        $adComputerParams.Add("SearchBase", $SearchBase)
        Write-Host "Searching for computers within '$SearchBase'."
    } else {
        $adComputerParams.Add("SearchBase", (Get-ADRootDSE).DefaultNamingContext)
        Write-Host "Searching for all computers in the domain."
    }
    $computersToScan = @()
    $spnResults = @()
    try {
        if ($Target) {
            Write-Host "Searching for ServicePrincipalName on specific computer: '$Target'."
            $computersToScan += Get-ADComputer -Identity $Target -Properties "ServicePrincipalName" -ErrorAction Stop
        } else {
            $computersToScan = Get-ADComputer @adComputerParams
        }
    }
    catch {
        Write-Error "Failed to retrieve computer objects from Active Directory: $($_.Exception.Message)"
        return
    }
    if (-not $computersToScan) {
        Write-Output "No computer objects found to process."
        return
    }
    foreach ($computer in $computersToScan) {
        if ($computer.ServicePrincipalName) {
            foreach ($spn in $computer.ServicePrincipalName) {
                $spnResults += [PSCustomObject]@{
                    'Service'     = $spn
                    'Working on'  = $computer.Name
                }
            }
        }
    }
    if ($spnResults.Count -gt 0) {
        Write-Host "Found $($spnResults.Count) ServicePrincipalName entry(ies)."
        try {
            $spnResults | Sort-Object -Unique 'Service', 'Working on' | Export-Csv -Path $OutputPath -NoTypeInformation -Encoding UTF8 -ErrorAction Stop
            Write-Output "Results exported successfully to '$OutputPath'"
        }
        catch { Write-Error "Failed to export results to CSV file '$OutputPath': $($_.Exception.Message)"}
    } else { Write-Output "No computer objects found with 'ServicePrincipalName' property set."}
}

1. Scan all domain computers

Find-HASSPN

2. Scan a specific object

Find-HASSPN -Target "FSSQL"

3. Using SearchBase to limit the scope

Find-HASSPN -SearchBase "OU=Workstations,DC=forestall,DC=labs"

Active Directory Users and Computers

1. Open Active Directory Users and Computers on your Windows server.

2. Right-click on the Computer.

3. Select Properties from the context menu.

4. In the Properties window, navigate to the Attribute Editor tab.

5. In the attribute editor’s list, locate and check the option servicePrincipalName with double click.

6. Click OK to close the dialogs.

Exploitation

No viable exploitation technique has been identified for this finding. The “Exploitation” section is included for completeness, but no method or proof-of-concept is currently available to exploit the issue.

Mitigation

No specific mitigation can be applied to the HAS_SPN edge. Since this edge only represents the existence of a Service Principal Name and does not correspond to an exploitable path, no direct mitigation is required.

Detection

Adding new Access Control Entries on Active Directory objects changes the ntSecurityDescriptor attribute of the objects themselves. These changes can be detected using Event IDs 5136 and 4662 to identify dangerous modifications.

Event ID	Description	Fields/Attributes	References
5136	A directory service object was modified.	ntSecurityDescriptor	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/auditing/event-5136\|
4662	An operation was performed on an object.	AccessList, AccessMask	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/auditing/event-4662\|
4742	A computer account was changed.	Subject, Account Name	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-10/security/threat-protection/auditing/event-4742\|